


Thunderstorms and Rainbows

by Bookwormgal



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Toon Henry (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Angst with a Happy Ending, Aquaphobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear, Fear of Death, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Ink, Panic, Post-Game(s), Rain, Rainbows, Toons - Freeform, traumatic memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 13:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12343608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwormgal/pseuds/Bookwormgal
Summary: It's all fun and games until someone gets trapped out in the rain...





	Thunderstorms and Rainbows

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a story set in [SquigglyDigg’s “Toon Henry AU.”](https://squigglydigglydoo.tumblr.com/post/161390661502/toon-henry-au-masterpost) The biggest thing to know about this if you aren’t familiar with the alternate universe is that Henry made it out of the studio alive and with three toon companions. It was so entertaining that I had to add a little something.

"...seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty!" counted Lizzie loudly, her voice carrying over the entire playground. "Ready or not! Here I come!"

Bendy tried to muffle his chuckles as he pressed himself against the underside of the slide. He'd already done the seeking several times today, startling the children into shrieks and giggles whenever he popped up unexpectedly. And while hiding didn't offer up as much opportunity to joke around, even restraining himself to easy-to-find hiding places to be fairer to the kids was a lot more fun than what he was doing earlier.

While the small one-room apartment that Henry first brought him, Boris, and Alice to right after they escaped the studio was good enough when the four of them stumbled in that first night (not that any of them were in any condition to complain or even really notice their surroundings much at the time), it really didn't have much space for all four of them in the long term. So in the middle of the trio of toons trying to adapt the real world, Henry started the process of moving to a house he apparently inherited from an uncle a while back. It was certainly a fixer-upper and practically drowning in dust, but it was also in a neighborhood with a lot of children in it. All the toons were happy about that little fact.

Today, before heading out to work, Henry suggested that they work on fixing up their new home. And while Bendy did help out for a while, he also remembered that Henry said they could head outside for a while if they got bored and they were careful. They hadn't run into many adults in the real world yet, but they'd already made friends with several of the local children. Boris and Alice seemed determined to help Henry make the house more habitable, so they stayed behind while Bendy headed to the small park a few streets over.

Boredom usually inspired him to cause trouble. And it was better to cause a little mischief with the children in the area than to start it in the house they wanted to spruce up.

A few squeals of surprise told Bendy that Lizzie found the boy who tried hiding behind the tree near the swing set. Amateur. He used the opportunity of a distracted seeker to poke his head out a little and look around.

Colors were still fascinating to him. His entire existence before was black-and-white and he loved taking a chance to see all the various shades out there. The sky was especially amazing. While blue was the most common, he'd seen a lot of variations. In the morning, it could be shades of pink and yellow. In the afternoon, he would see different oranges and reds. At night, the sky would be black with bright white stars that twinkled in an almost familiar manner.

But today, the sky was strange. He couldn't see the sun and a solid grayness stretched across the horizon. It took Bendy a little while to even realize that what he was seeing overhead was clouds. He was used to the big fluffy white ones. That's what appeared in almost any cartoon with clouds. One giant gray one that covered the entire sky was different.

It had also been very windy all day. He'd halfway considered suggesting kites to the kids; the bright colors would have been amazing against the gray skies. But he didn't have any kites back at Henry's house and he wasn't sure how many of the children did. So hide-and-seek it was.

Another oddity of the day was that he thought he heard something rumbling in the distance a couple of times. Something that seemed vaguely familiar. Maybe something from a cartoon...?

A crashing _boom_ rang out, almost like an explosion. Bendy jumped, banging his head against the metal slide while the children screamed and shrieked in surprise. While he rubbed his head, a bump already forming in response to the impact, he heard another strange noise. Like something approaching at high speed. And the kids were running away from the playground, heading towards their individual homes.

Bendy scratched the side of his head in confusion at the reaction. He couldn't figure out why the kids would abandon the game. It was like they'd been waiting for an unknown signal to go home. He also couldn't figure out what the weird noise was. The best he could describe it was a million tap dancers scurrying toward him.

Then it hit.

From his position underneath the slide, Bendy saw the torrential downpour sweep across the playground right towards him. It was different than his one cartoon that involved a rain shower. He couldn't see each individual drop as it fell. It was more like thick curtains of the stuff or solid streams. And it was so loud, striking the slide overhead and everything else hard.

He remembered that one cartoon. Along with some of his more usual gags, he'd also jumped in a lot of mud puddles and splashed it all over everyone until they were coated with the stuff and only their eyes showing. It was a fun one. Bendy almost wished that the kids stayed around. It would have been entertaining to do the same thing with them.

He felt something drip on his left arm, making Bendy turn to look. While the slide offered some shelter, it wasn't quite wide enough and some of the rain dripped down the side to hit him. For a moment, the sensation felt cool and mild. Then it changed.

Cold. Sharp and cold. He jerked his arm close to his body, yelping at the unpleasant feeling. Not quite pain. Not yet. But approaching it. And then he saw the small section of ink starting to run. Thinner and more liquid-y.

"No, no, no, no," he whimpered, clasping at the slight damage in a panic. He tried to curl into the smallest space possible, away from the edges of his minimal shelter. "Not again. Not again."

He could feel more tiny, icy cold, needle-like pinpricks as the raindrops hit the ground and splattered around his legs. Lots of them. It stung, but it wasn't the burning agony. The way his ink began to dribble where the larger drops hit terrified him though. And every impact seemed to feel worse than the previous.

It was too much like when the acetone splashed all over him, but slower. It was freezing cold rather than the burning agony that tried to melt him out of existence, but it was still too familiar and horrifying. It was the nightmarish encounter with the acetone all over again. And unlike then, he was absolutely trapped and surrounded by the dangerous substance as it fell all around. There was so much of it.

Another rumbling boom rang out, though this time Bendy recognized the sound as thunder. Not quite like the type used in his mildly-spookier cartoons, but close. But he didn't jump in surprise. Terror had paralyzed him.

Bendy hyperventilated as he realized that a puddle was forming at the end of the slide and another one near the ladder. If the downpour continued, the two puddles would eventually meet up and form one. And he would be left standing in the middle of it. His relative safety had a time limit.

He didn't want to dissolve out of existence. He didn't want to be washed away. He didn't want to die.

But he was trapped. The closest other form of shelter would be the house across the street from the park. But he didn't know who lived there and if they would let him in. And it wasn't like he could get there anyway. If he left his spot, the rain would destroy him before he made it more than a dozen steps. And he couldn't stay because then he would just dissolve _slowly_.

Then it got worse. The strong wind from early decided to start back up and brief drove some of the rain under the slide. Bendy screamed as the drops hammered against his back, icy and sharp like little knives, until the breeze died back down again.

The roar of the rain, the banging from the impacts on the slide, and the occasional thunder pounded against his ears. And yet he could still hear pained and terrified whimpering. It took him a moment to realize it was coming from him.

He could feel something running down his back, but he couldn't tell if it was water or ink. His back was freezing cold now and stinging sharply. Bendy still clutched his injured arm close to his body as well. He could feel himself shaking, which wasn't good since he was trying to avoid further drops pouring down on all sides.

Would it get as bad as when the acetone splashed on him? Would it keep getting worse and worse until it reached that point? Somehow the slow progression of the icy sharpness was more frightening than the sudden and intense burning of the horrible liquid.

Why? Why did the rain feel like this? It was harmless in the cartoons and he didn't think that humans feared the downpour cutting through them, cold and cruel.

Bendy couldn't tell how long he crouched there, flinching at every splash of the rain as it soaked everything around him. Whenever a breeze picked up, the sharp coldness sliced at him as the drops were blown straight into him. And the puddles were growing, forcing him to move carefully in his shrinking area of safety.

His breathing was far too quick and shallow, tiny whimpers escaping as he saw watered-down ink droplets hitting the ground below him. He kept shaking. His chest felt so tight that he half-expected his bowtie to be wrapped around it like a vice.

He remembered the acetone. He remembered the white-hot agony of his body melting away everywhere it touched. It only took moments, but he could never forget it.

And once again, he was at the mercy of a dangerous liquid that was trying to destroy him. Slower and colder, but still washing him away with each touch. And there was so much more rain than there was acetone in the little bottle. It was everywhere.

He was trapped. He was helpless. And that was utterly terrifying. His sheer lack of power to escape or do anything made his fear and panic so much worse.

And he was alone. There was no one there to pull him out this time.

For a brief moment, over the deafening sounds of the rain hammering all around him and above, Bendy thought he heard something new. Then another crash of thunder drowned out all noise and made him flinch slightly.

He didn't want to dissolve away. He didn't want to die. He'd barely even seen the real world yet and now this was happening. It wasn't fair.

Another fat and heavy drop slipped over the edge of the slide, hitting his left shoulder and yanking a short yelp out of him. Bendy managed not to stumble backwards in reaction though. That would have caused him to step in the growing puddles. Being thankful for small miracles was more of Alice's thing than his, but right now would be a good time for an exception to that.

"Bendy!"

Shock rendered the toon speechless. This time, he definitely heard it. Faint and mostly drowned out by the torrential downpour, but he did hear his name. Cautiously, he started turning his head and tried to see through heavy rain.

Everything seemed muted and dim. While not quite gray, all the previous colors seemed washed out and dull. The rain had turned the whole world darker. And he still couldn't spot anyone who could be calling his name.

Maybe he'd just gone crazy. Maybe he was just hoping for help and it was making him hear things.

" _Bendy!"_

That time, the voice was closer and clearer. He could make out hints of worry, desperation, and growing despair in the tone. It was the voice of someone searching for something they feared would never be found. It was the voice of someone who knew they should give up, yet knew it would hurt more to admit defeat.

And more importantly, it was a voice the toon recognized.

"Henry!" he cried out.

It took him a moment to spot the man, but Bendy finally did. He saw the former cartoon artist hurrying towards him, a bright red umbrella held over his head and something yellow tucked under his arm. Bendy smiled at the welcome sight of those colors and the man carrying them.

Henry slowed down as he neared the slide, possibly noticing how Bendy flinched at how much was splashing up with each step. The toon could see that the man was soaked from the knees down, the umbrella not enough to block everything when the wind blew. But it didn't seem to harm the man as it did the toon.

Kneeling down in front of the slide and angling the umbrella to keep any of the rain from being blown into the tiny shelter, Henry sighed in undisguised relief and said, "There you are, you little punk. I was starting to think..."

He shook his head briefly. Then, with his free hand, he reached out and touched the side of Bendy's face cautiously. His eyes quickly scanned the toon, clearly taking in situation and the damage. The man's eyes tightened for a moment before he closed them. When he opened them again, his expression had settled into something more determined and practical.

"Let's get you out of here."

"I _can't_ ," whimpered Bendy, the mere thought of stepping out into the heavy downpour left him gasping and panicking. "I can't do it. I can't."

His hands were wrapped around his arms so tightly, but he could feel a few droplets slip between his fingers from the earlier damage. He couldn't do it. He couldn't go out there. He didn't want to dissolve away. No rain. No acetone. He didn't want to disappear.

"Easy," Henry said firmly. "Calm down. You're all right. Take a deep breath slowly. I won't let anything happen to you. Just breathe."

There was something in his voice, something commanding that made it impossible for the terrified toon to disobey. With Henry blocking off more of the rain with his body and his umbrella, Bendy tried to get back control of his frantic breathing. It was hard. It seemed to keep catching and getting stuck. But after a few tries, he managed to get it slowed down. It remained a bit ragged and shaky, but his breathing was calmer.

"All right," Henry said. "Let's try this again. I'm getting you out of here, but you won't get wet." Balancing the umbrella a little awkwardly with his shoulder, he began to unfold the yellow material under his arm. "This is the biggest rain poncho they make. Bought it 'cause it was the only size available, tossed it in the car ages ago, and almost forgot about it. The hood might be a little tight on your head, but the rest should be more than enough to cover you."

Slowly, Bendy reached for the offered object. It felt smooth and slick in his hands. And with a little fumbling, he managed to work out how it was supposed to go on. Squeezing his head through was as tricky as Henry warned, but it eventually popped into place. The rest of his body seemed to be swimming in the weird rubbery plastic. The excess pooled on the ground and would probably make him trip if he tried walking.

Still, not bad for someone who doesn't actually change clothes much.

"There you go," Henry said, keeping his voice calm and reassuring. "Rain ponchos are made to be waterproof, so it'll help protect you from the storm."

"It looks more like a circus tent on me than clothes," said Bendy. His voice shook a little, but he mostly sounded like himself again even as tried to ignore the black streaks he left on the rain poncho. "Are you sure this is the right size, old man?"

"It needs to be big for the hood to fit over your giant head," he said dryly. "Now, I need you to keep your face down and your hands in the sleeves. It can only protect what is covered, so stay under there."

"No need to tell me twice."

With a quick and careful movement, Henry scooped Bendy up with his free arm and lifted him over puddles that surrounded him. The toon cringed as he was pulled from his shelter under the slide, but not a single drop touched him. The man quickly cradled him against his chest while providing an extra layer of protection with the umbrella. If Henry noticed how his shaking didn't completely ease off or how Bendy pressed himself against the man because he needed some sense of safety, he didn't say a word.

The man quietly groaned as he straightened back up, his joints probably stiffening a little from the awkward position. A drop managed to slip by and bounce off Bendy's head. He flinched at the impact, but there was no cold sharpness. The hood of the rain poncho was doing exactly what it was supposed to do. It was keeping him dry and protected. The toon tried to relax.

The rain wasn't quite as deafening away from the metal slide, but it was still loud. He could hear it pounding against the umbrella, like it wanted to tear its way through and reach the toon again. But the red umbrella seemed to be holding up to the onslaught just fine. The occasional thunder wasn't as loud anymore either. Or maybe it just seemed that way now that he wasn't alone.

Bendy stayed huddled in his protective rain poncho, oblivious to the world, until Henry stopped moving. Curiosity compelled him to take a quick peek. The man was once again trying to juggle the umbrella in place with his head and shoulder to support it so he could free up a hand. Turns out that he'd parked the car in the street right in front of the small playground. Rather haphazardly too. It was definitely crooked and the keys seemed to still be in the ignition, the motor rumbling quietly. For all intents and purposes, it looked like Henry essentially jumped out of the car as quickly as possible and just left the vehicle to fend for itself.

He finally managed to get the door open and tried to slip the toon inside. Bendy didn't want to let go, but he did want to get away from the rain. So he let himself be deposited in the passenger's seat before Henry hurried around to the driver's side.

Once all the doors were closed and the rain was reduced to a quiet pattering on the glass, Henry tossed the soaked umbrella into the back. Then he started pulling off the yellow rain poncho, taking care not to let it drip on the toon. After all the wet articles were stashed in the back of the car and out of the way, the man then produced a pair of blue towels from the floor.

"I grabbed these on the way out of the house," Henry said as an explanation. "Hold still."

Slowly and carefully, he began to pat the towels all over the still-shivering toon. Not rubbing. The motions were more like he was trying to blot away the excess liquid. But even with his caution, Bendy could still see the small black patches appearing on the thick fabric.

"How did you find me?" asked Bendy quietly.

Reaching around so he could dry the toon's back, he said, "I just got home right before the storm hit. Boris and Alice mentioned that you went to the park this afternoon." Pausing briefly in his work to shake his head tiredly, Henry said, "I am so sorry that I didn't think to warn any of you. But none of you have been here that long and we've had a dry spell, so it didn't even occur to me until I realized that you were out in all this." He gestured at the window, where the raindrops seemed to be slower than before. "All I could do was grab some towels and an umbrella, tell the others to stay inside, and hope that I found you before it was too late."

"Why? Why is the rain like acetone?" asked the toon in a small voice. "It isn't like that in the cartoons and it doesn't hurt you."

"Water-based inks," he said simply, returning to the task of drying. "That's what we used when we were animating. Water will dilute it or even wash it away. A little bit shouldn't cause issues, but too much and..." He trailed off with an unreadable expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I should have thought about this sooner."

"Oh..."

Good thing he hadn't tried the whole "bucket of water balanced above a door" gag at any point since arriving in the real world. That wouldn't have been funny at all. Yet another thing that was harmless in cartoons, but dangerous in the real world. At least for them.

"Does this happen often?"

Reaching for Bendy's arm to pat it dry, Henry admitted, "Sometimes. There are some parts of the world where it happens more often and places where it happens less. But there are usually signs that you can watch out for. Gray storm clouds are the most obvious."

It was sunny that morning when Henry left for work. When he said they could go to the park later if they wanted to. The gray skies only came after that.

"There we go, you little punk," Henry said finally, setting down his stained towel. "Let's take a quick look at you."

Bendy glanced down at his arm. It wasn't melting away into a misshapen glob of running ink. That was always a good sign. But there were little patches and spots that were lighter than they were meant to be. There were similar places on his legs where the raindrops splashed against him. He could only imagine what his back looked like (unless he wanted to twist his head all the way around like an owl). It didn't even hurt too much. The faded marks felt itchy more than anything now that the water was dried off and wasn't doing any more damage. So as scary as the entire event was, he'd definitely come out of it in better condition than his encounter with the acetone.

"Not as bad as I was expecting," Henry said. "You'll be all right. Give it a little time and we'll have you looking like your old self again before you know it." When the toon didn't immediately answer, he glanced out the windshield. "Looks like the rain is dying down. Sudden cloudbursts like that might hit hard, but usually doesn't last long. It'll either taper off to a light sprinkle soon or stop completely."

"I don't like it," muttered Bendy, folding his arms and scowling slightly.

"I don't blame you. I'd bet most humans wouldn't be happy if the sky periodically dropped gallons of acid all over everything," Henry said.

They fell silent for a few moments. The sound of the pattering rain was definitely quieter and slowing down. Bendy's earlier fear from being trapped and surrounded by the dangerous substance was also fading. It was still there, covering everything and pooling around the way that the ink did in many parts of the studio when the machine was active. But the water was outside and he was safe behind the metal and glass of the car.

The radio played softly, the volume too low for him to make out the tune properly. The windshield wipers swung back and forth with quiet squeaks. Warm air came out of the vents, steaming up the glass slightly and chasing away the chill of his previous panic.

Henry wasn't driving yet. They were still haphazardly parked at the side of the road. He just sat there in the silence, watching the toon. Bendy could have made a comment, but he appreciated the chance to calm down. His fear of acetone was now completely tangled up with his newly-discovered fear of water. Part of him wished that Henry _did_ warn him ahead of time, but he'd been explaining and introducing them to so many things out in the real world. There were so many things that they never knew because they never came up in the cartoons or in the studio. And with so many things to teach them, it made sense that Henry would miss at least one.

Bendy didn't blame him. He'd blamed the man for a lot things in the past, most of which Henry didn't deserve the blame for. But the toon didn't blame him for not warning them about something that hadn't come up yet. Besides, as soon as he realized the danger, Henry came for him.

Leaning forward a little on his steering wheel and peering through the foggy glass, Henry said casually, "There's a lot of things in the world that can be dangerous, scary, and painful. Some you can avoid and some you can't. And sometimes you'll walk straight into the stuff of nightmares before you even realize what's happened. You'll be so tangled up in the worst situation you can imagine that it seems like you can't possibly survive it."

While Henry wasn't exactly one to sugar-coat things or to use white lies, Bendy could have really done without this conversation at the moment. None of them needed to be reminded of all the bad things out there. Especially the ones that were disguised as good ones until it was almost too late to avoid disaster.

"But," he continued as he wiped away the fogginess of the windshield, "sometimes you have to deal with the dangers and horrors anyway. And sometimes they result in something wonderful in the end. Something worth all the fear and pain."

A little bit of sunlight was peeking through now that the rain was nearly gone, but that wasn't what caught the toon's attention and left him gaping in pure awe. Bright colors stretched overhead, beautiful and breath-taking. Bendy stood up and leaned on the dashboard to get a better look.

He knew what it was. The versions in cartoons were in shades of gray and each stripe distinct and separate. And a lot thicker. But he still knew what a rainbow was supposed to be.

The thin arch stretched out and vanished behind the different houses. And the colors faded into each other, red becoming orange becoming yellow becoming green and so on. The intensity of the shades overhead stood out all the stronger against the gray skies. The bright and gorgeous colors seemed absolutely magical.

Bendy wasn't sure how long he stared at the rainbow. Long enough for the windshield to start steaming up again and for Henry to reach over to wipe it off a second time. He did notice out of the corner of his eye that the man wasn't looking through the glass at the beautiful sight. He was staring at the toon with a small smile on his face.


End file.
